Austin said, “Thank you for your consideration, Ms. Isabella. My nana is over eighty but still in good health and she can still fly. I do have a large family though, and it would be difficult for everyone to come over. It’s better to forget it. I’ll tell my family that I won’t be going back for Christmas this year. They’ll understand.”He had thought about this before coming here. His family was already mentally prepared for his absence during the holiday. Plus, next year, he planned to take Isabella home for Christmas and finalize their engagement. His nana had only given them a year to cement their relationship with their bride candidates and as long as they treated them with care, a year was enough to win their hearts.“As for the Christmas holiday wages, Ms. Isabella, just give me whatever you think is appropriate. My job is to be your chef and provide your daily meals, so it’s normal not to have time off during the holidays in this line of work.” The service industry was usual
Elaine replied, “Weren't you the one who invited the reporters, Madam?”Without an invitation from the head of the family, why would these reporters come to Fisher Manor? There was no major news about the Fishers either. Belinda quickly realized who had done it. She had not invited the reporters, Caroline had been knocked out and escorted out of Jensburg, and neither her husband nor three sons would dare to do so. The only one capable of this was Audrey, her charming niece.“Go tell the reporters that tonight’s gathering is a family dinner and that we did not invite them. Ask them to leave and give each of them a small gift as well.”It was best to sweeten them up a bit to prevent them from fabricating stories. Nowadays, some reporters exaggerated for the sake of clicks or wrote whatever came to mind without proper understanding. The Fishers’ reputation had already suffered recently. If they offended the media, they could face severe backlash.Elaine left to carry out the orders, b
As long as Mr. Gordon helped her bring her daughter back and secured her daughter's position, he could have his freedom. It was a way to ensure a good outcome for those around her.“As for Hunter, if I’m going to die, I'll take him down with me. Otherwise, he'll abuse his status. After all, Caroline is his daughter, and I fear he’ll use his status to pressure her. As for my three sons… I’ll leave it to fate.”Belinda closed her eyes. She could only protect the most important one. Hunter had already reminded all three of her useless sons, who still clung to their luck and ignored his advice. Who could they blame then? While Hunter cared most about his sons and grandchildren because they all carried the Clark surname, she cared most about her daughter who bore her surname.“Someone's coming. I have to go.” Belinda hung up before casually placing her phone back on the coffee table.The person who entered was Caroline’s stand-in. She resembled Caroline closely enough that with a little
“Ignore it. She can bring whoever she wants. I’m not afraid.”Belinda added coldly, “She just wants to tarnish my name. However, other people have been discussing me behind my back for decades. Do I even have a reputation left?”Two years ago, the revelation of Caroline and Celine’s switch at birth had made her and the Fisher family the laughingstock of Jensburg. Thinking closely, Belinda felt her reputation was already down the drain. Since that was the case, she did not care if someone sullied her name further. They did not have evidence anyway. She could simply deny everything. Belinda would kill them all that very night. Adrian nodded. The Clark brothers exchanged glances. Just like Hunter, they thought their mother was confident in succeeding. “Belinda, Belinda.”Hunter suddenly ran in while yelling. Belinda frowned. She glared at him and scolded, “Why do you still get so panicked when you’re already in your seventies?”Hunter pointed at Caroline, then outsid
There would be hope as long as Caroline lived. If Caroline was safe, Belinda’s bloodline could continue being in charge of the Fisher family. Belinda’s body swayed. Hunter pointed at Caroline, who was walking over, and told his wife, “Look! Isn’t that our daughter? The person behind her is Mr. Fletcher, the assistant you assigned to her.“The one inside the house is a fake. She doesn’t have Mr. Fletcher with her. I thought it was weird that I hadn’t seen him today.”It turned out the Caroline he had been seeing all day was an imposter. Even he was deceived. That imposter looked precisely like the real thing. As Caroline’s father, he did not even realize his daughter was fake. “Mom.”Caroline walked up the stairs and stood before Belinda. She said, “I’ve told you I’m your daughter. I’ll brave every hardship with you. No matter the outcome, I’ll stay by your side.“Stop thinking about how to send me away. I won’t go. The word ‘escape’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.”B
Upon hearing the butler’s words, Caroline turned and walked toward the manor’s gates. Darren naturally followed her. Hunter suddenly found his daughter’s walk confident and dominating. Although the substitute looked like her, she was not as commanding as Caroline was in her strides. He was frustrated that he did not realize the Caroline in the house was a fake. If he had known that his wife was going for a plan that involved her death, he would have asked his sons to leave. If they were to leave at that moment…Caroline had told them to leave if they were scared. After waiting for Caroline and the butler to walk away, Hunter told the Clark brothers, “You must know by now that your mom is only protecting Caroline. She doesn’t care about your lives at all.“I’m the only one who truly cares for you three. I’ve told you to take cover in my hometown for the time being or not attend tonight’s banquet, but none of you heeded my advice.“You guys can’t even leave now. What will
Audrey and the rest exited their cars when Caroline appeared. As Patrick was old, he was slow to get off. Zachary and Clive stood by Patrick’s car door. When he opened the door, the two CEOs bent over to help him.“Be careful, Mr. Patrick. There’s no need to rush. Take it slow.”They did not have much sentiment toward Fisher Manor. To them, it was merely the house Belinda lived in. However, to Patrick, Fisher Manor was filled with memories. It was the place Tiara had lived all her life. Tiara was born and raised in Fisher Manor before she eventually became the head of the family and managed the manor. Although Patrick had never lived here throughout his decades of service, he was a frequent visitor. It felt as if he was returning home that day. “You don’t have to support me. I can help myself. I won’t rush.”Despite saying so, Patrick was excited. His limbs were trembling. However, it was due to his old age and not out of excitement, which was a common occurrence among
Patrick smiled. “I’ll try my best. I want to witness the birth of Seren’s baby and Elisa getting married and having children. I only had one wish in the past. I guess I’ve gotten greedy now.”After returning to Audrey’s side, he realized that the little girl he used to carry had grown old and was about to become a grandmother. He had also gotten to know many youngsters who respected him. If Patrick could continue living for a few more years and watch Tiara’s descendants lead a happy life, he could tell Tiara all about them once he met her in the afterlife.Darrell and Audrey stepped forward to take Zachary and Clive’s place. They stood beside the old man and helped him as he walked. The legendary masters were right behind them, followed by the younger ones. “Good evening, Audrey.”Caroline went over with Darren and Elaine. She greeted Audrey with a smile. Audrey and her group stopped. Patrick looked toward Caroline, who was also looking back at him. She smiled and sa
Zachary was also worried that Serenity would go into premature labor out of shock. He also persuaded her to go for her checkup in a gentle voice. They could not do anything but wait anyway.Serenity finally decided to conduct her prenatal checkup first. Zachary accompanied her. Just moments after they left, the door to the delivery suite opened. A nurse stood there and shouted, “Is Jasmine Sox’s husband here?”“Yes. I’m her husband,” replied Josh quickly. He dashed to the nurse. “You must save Jas, doctor. Save the mother no matter what.”His family members behind him also echoed, “That’s right. No matter what happens, you have to save Jasmine.”The nurse said, “The mother is fine. It’s just that she wants her husband to accompany her as she’s in a lot of pain.”Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.Josh was about to rush inside but was stopped by the nurse.She asked him to change his clothes before taking him inside the delivery suite.Jasmine was wailing in pain. When
With advanced medical technology, a premature baby could still be healthy if taken good care of in the incubator. Serenity said, “Jasmine should be at thirty-five weeks. I just don’t understand why she would suddenly go into labor. Did she fall at home?“Or did she eat something that made her go into labor?”Zachary said, “That’s most likely not the case. Josh’s cousin is Jasmine’s dietician and keeps an eye on her food every day. There’s no way Jasmine would’ve eaten something bad unless she ate it secretly.”Serenity and Zachary suddenly went silent. Pregnant women had weird appetites. Once they had a craving, they could not go unsatisfied. Sometimes, they would even crave fruits that were not in season. Serenity herself was one of them. Once, she woke up in the middle of the night craving mac and cheese. Of course, Zachary, the ever-doting husband, had to satisfy her request. However, where could he find mac and cheese at that hour?Ultimately, he had to drive to the
People would reap what they had sown. They would have to bear the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, interfering in another person’s fate would backfire. After chatting for some time, Serenity said, “I have to go for my checkup now, Liberty. Let’s talk again when you’re free another day.“By the way, I’ll get someone to bring Sonny to you this weekend. He misses you.”“Okay,” said Liberty. After the call ended, Serenity put her phone into her bag and stood up. She told the man behind the office desk, “It’s almost time, babe. Let’s go.”“Okay. I’m almost done.”Zachary quickly signed and stamped a document before closing it. He walked over with the document in hand. Serenity and Zachary left the office together. He handed the document to his secretary. The secretary did not expect him to pass the document to him personally. He had thought of entering Zachary’s office to request it later. The secretary watched Zachary and Serenity leave. He could not believe
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
Zachary, afraid that his wife might refuse to spend time with him at his office in the future, emphasized that he was not busy today.He had already cleared his morning schedule because he needed to accompany his beloved wife for her prenatal checkup.His secretary was well aware of Serenity’s checkup dates. Whenever he saw Serenity turn up at the office with his boss, his secretary would quietly adjust his schedule.Sometimes, on the day of the Serenity’s checkup, his secretary would not schedule any appointments for Zachary at all.Even if appointments were scheduled, Zachary would request they be canceled or rescheduled.Now, in Zachary’s eyes, his wife’s matters were the most important.With Alex now able to share the workload, Zachary felt that he, as the eldest of his generation who had shouldered the bulk of the burden for so many years, deserved a break.Plus, there was the elite team the company had trained; if not now, then when would they be put to use?Everyone was
Tony turned around and left.Only after hearing the door close did Carrie dare to open her eyes.She had woken up while Tony and his son were on the phone, but she did not dare move, fearing that Tony might suspect her of eavesdropping.Just now, when that old lecher stood by the bed looking at her, there was definitely a murderous glint in his eyes. She could feel it.Sooner or later, he would kill her.Carrie was filled with panic. She wanted to escape but was afraid she would not succeed. No one was there to help her.For a moment, Carrie even considered running to Camryn to confess everything, but she quickly dismissed the thought. The reason she ended up in this situation was entirely due to Camryn.She and Camryn were sworn enemies. Their conflict would not end until one of them was dead. However, even if she died, she would drag Camryn down with her.-Meanwhile, in the CEO's office at York Corporation, Zachary, seated at his desk, kept glancing up at his pregnant wife.
“You should have gotten rid of them all back then and cultivated a network of people loyal only to you.” Manny felt that his father should not have spared those people in the first place.Tony said, “There were too many of them, all relatives and friends with the same goal as us. We couldn’t eliminate them all at once.”Back then, he had incited everyone to join him in wiping out the entire main family, sparing neither the elderly nor the children.It was because they were all from the collateral branches, jealous of the main family’s long-standing control, and shared a common goal that his conspiracy succeeded.He had also spent over a decade waiting for the right opportunity.Who would have thought that even after wiping out the main family, he still could not obtain the family seal, token, or totem? Without these, he could not become the true head of the family and could only act as a proxy. Many of the connections loyal to the head remained inaccessible.Moreover, much of the